Norwich bar crawl pits Benedict Arnold enthusiasts vs. revilers

Downtown Norwich celebrated the birth of the city’s most famously conflicted native son Sunday with a spirited bar crawl.

ALISON SHEA

Downtown Norwich celebrated the birth of the city’s most famously conflicted native son Sunday with a spirited bar crawl.

The bar crawl was the first of its kind to celebrate the man most know as a traitor, but who was also one of the Revolutionary War’s greatest generals before he famously changed sides. Arnold was born on this day in 1741.

Participants began the six-hour event at Chacer’s Bar and Grill on Franklin Street, moving to Billy Wilson’s Ageing Still on Broadway and finishing at Harp and Dragon Pub on Main Street. They got in the spirit, wearing red or blue, based on which side they felt he truly allied with. The Spirit of Broadway theater donated tricorner hats from a previous production, and a trivia contest awarded an Arnold bobblehead — “He’s two-faced!” the box proclaimed — to the most knowledgeable. Tequila promoters created four signature drinks for the event, with names like “The Turncoat” and “The Patriot.”

By the time the crowd left Chacer’s, organizer Jason Vincent said he was already out of hats and the 50 commemorative buttons with Arnold’s face on them.

“It’s great. I’m amazed at how many people came out,” Vincent said.

The crawl, with two hours at each spot, was designed to remedy a common criticism, Vincent said, that crawls don’t allow enough time to get food at each bar to balance the alcohol intake.

At the first stop, friends Jeff Hooper and Tracy Albanese, of Norwich, and Crystal and Nick Garosshen, of Plainfield, relaxed in one corner with a bucket of beers. The women showed off their red, white and blue costumes, while the men adjusted their tricorner hats and wigs. The hats, with attached powdered wig hair, came from costumes designed to make them look like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, respectively, but it was close enough, they said.

As trivia began, they lamented that they had focused on the costumes rather than reading up on their city’s infamous native son, Hooper said.

“I think we’re going to have to rely on Siri,” Hooper said, referring to his iPhone. “But next time, we’ll be experts.”

One of the Arnold history buffs in the audience, Beryl Fishbone, said she was happy Norwich was finally acknowledging, much less embracing, the connection to a man most know only as a traitor. A decoration on her tricorner hat made it half red and half blue, to recognize both of Arnold’s allegiances.

“He was fine while he was under the influence of Norwich. It was the influence of others that turned him,” Fishbone said.

Tim Smith, of Norwich, played it as neutral as one could get, wearing a red shirt and blue jeans to represent both sides.

“I just want to show that two countries can get along,” he said.

If the event becomes an annual tradition, Smith said, he hopes to see more events that day to really increase foot traffic in the area.

Still, the traffic was more than he normally sees on an early Sunday afternoon, Chacer’s owner Geoff Chase said, adding that he had seen quite a few new faces already.

“It’s been good for all three of our places. Right now it’s busier than it would be. We get a good football crowd, but then the Patriots aren’t playing until later today.”